Inside NASCAR

May 02, 2010|By By Marty O'Brien | | 247-4963

RICHMOND — Defending Langley Speedway Late Model champion C.E. Falk will enter Saturday's 100-lapper in search of a third consecutive victory. His latest win came at the expense of a former Langley division champion, Denny Hamlin, in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown on Thursday at Southside Speedway near Richmond.

The 250-lap race is held annually during the week of a Sprint Cup Series stop in Richmond to benefit the Denny Hamlin Foundation. It features a mix of Cup stars and regional Late Model hot shots, all on hand to help Hamlin raise money for charity.

Hamlin qualified on the pole, but Falk showed his chops by qualifying in the top four with Cup stars Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Hamlin led most of the race, but when he bobbled after contact with Falk on the final lap, Falk passed him for the victory, with Stewart second, former Langley Late Model standout Eddie Johnson third and Hamlin fourth.

Hamlin had no problems with Falk knocking him out of the way on the last lap en route to the checkered flag.

"(Thursday) was a great night," said Hamlin, who won the 1997 Mini-Stock title at Langley. "We had over 5,000 people there in a place that holds about 4,000, so that was good. I had a great race, obviously, with a green-white-checkered finish that I wasn't on the winning end of.

"I'm sure right now (Falk's) waking up smiling knowing he had Tony Stewart right behind him and me right in front of him — knocked me out of the way and got the win and beat Tony to the line.

"It's a great story for him, and I can't say I would be any different if I was in that same situation."

Falk joked, "If you're a Denny fan, he got knocked out of the way. If you're a C.E. fan, he got rubbed out of the way.

"It's definitely the biggest win I've ever had, and I appreciate Denny inviting us to race in this."

Around the pits

Here are some thoughts this week from drivers and crew at Richmond International Raceway on some subjects racing-related, others not.

Asked if he had paid any attention to the Arizona immigration laws causing a national stir, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya said, "No, I live in Florida. (Politics is) none of my business. I'm a NASCAR driver."

When he was asked if he ever would consider boycotting a race for political issues, Montoya shot back, "Hell no. If my boss told me I'm not racing, then I'm not racing. If my boss tells me I'm racing, then I'm racing." …

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he no longer thinks about the wreck at Richmond with Kyle Busch two years ago with three laps remaining, costing them both a shot at the victory. "I think about running like crap the last couple of times we have run here. … About that time was the last time we were really running good here, and I just want to get back to running like that."

Earnhardt Jr. also laughed off a National Enquirer story that he broke up the marriage of a University of Kentucky football assistant coach and his wife.

"You learn a lot of new stuff about yourself that you never knew before," he said of the publication. "The Enquirer is pretty creative. I have to hand it to them." ...

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of Mark Martin's No. 5, on Kasey Kahne moving into that car in two seasons: "I think he is a great fit for the No. 5. I think he has the potential to go win a lot of races and a lot of championships."

Jimmie and Jeff

Clint Bowyer said of the Jimmie Johnson- Jeff Gordon feud, "I think seeing a little attitude in Jeff Gordon is good. That cat has been around this sport a long time and he's sick of Jimmie Johnson stealing everybody's thunder, just like everybody else is."